the Mugamma - take two

So it's my day off and what better way to start it by going back to the Mugamma to get this visa??

Today it was even more crowded with Syrians and Palestinians seeking refuge here. Really interesting to see that Egypt is considered a refuge for some, and a hell for others, namely the Egyptians.

I came back armed with my father's old IDs, and embarked on this challenging pursuit of transferring my visa. Doesn't sound like it should be too difficult, but this is Egypt. It turned out that they wanted me to fill out citizenship forms since my father is Egyptian, and therefore I am Egyptian, so I wouldn't need a visa to stay in my country. I went through the same cycle of shoving myself up to the windows and having conflicting conversations with workers about which forms to fill out, not wanting citizenship, and just wanting to pay for a visa for my American passport. No. They refused to give me just a visa on the fact that my father is Egyptian. They even shouted at me that either I become a citizen, or I get nothing. And the thing is- even when I go through that whole citizenship form-filling process, every single person at every single window tells me to go in the opposite direction and fill out yet another form, and it is just so exhausting.

There is no system, no organization, everyone makes up these arbitrary requirements, and all the ppl at the windows tell you to seek approval from an officer, and then the officer tells you you don't need what you're looking for, and the ppl at the window say the officers have no idea what they're talking about. Folders and folders of papers everywhere. Everything is written by hand and filed in messy piles on desks behind the windows. It such a mess.

Eventually, a police officer told me to just lie and say that my dad is Lebanese, not Egyptian. That would explain why i have an arabic name and can speak arabic. That actually was working just until a woman recognized me from last week's attempt and viciously called me out in front of everyone. I was called a liar and was denied any help. Her coworker took my father's and grandmother's names and birthdays to search their records to confirm. I had no idea how to get out of my, kind of Lebanese, kind of Egyptian father lie, so I just left. Again.

I swear I'm not going back. If I have to pay an expediter or make some calls to pull some strings, I will. But I am not going back to that hell hole.

This whole experience sickens me and makes me hate Egypt. No wonder egyptians are so angry. I'm just not sure what to do because I want to travel during the holiday break and I won't be able to without the right visa and I can't get the visa without getting my "genseyya". SMH.